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We have just released a 30-track free mixtape called “Blood”, comprised entirely of Robotic Empire label alumni’s newest material. There’s over 20 previously unreleased tracks, which winds up being the debut release of a lot of artists’ new/side/solo projects, and we’re extremely happy to be presenting this to you today.

To elaborate a bit, we’ve been a label for 15 years now and to celebrate we decided to assemble a unique kind of release – where the primary focus is what’s going on with the amazing musicians we’ve worked with over the years, be it their latest material, an unreleased b-side, or the unexpected solo/side project’s latest stuff. When we started contacting bands the response was overwhelmingly positive, and ver about a two-month material the project snowballed, turning into the free 30 track beast before you!

There are contributions from repeat offenders TORCHE, TILTS, PYGMYLUSH, HOLLOW SUNSHINE, TIDELAND and ALPACA, this sampler also spotlights a swath of new material from members of historic Robo bands PG.99, DAUGHTERS, ISIS, CAPSULE, RED SPAROWES, CRESTFALLEN, YOUNG WIDOWS, STOP IT!!, DIAL, ULTRA DOLPHINS, A STORM OF LIGHT, VERSE EN COMA and many more. The full lineup and tracklisting for “Blood” is as follows:

Worth elaborating on is the lead track from TORCHE, oddly-enough named after Robotic Empire’s label founder. Steve Brooks from the band had the following comment in response to this:

“This is a lost track we recorded for the “Songs for Singles” record in 2010. We weren’t completely satisfied with how it turned out and planned on rewriting it one day. One of the riffs got used in “Letting Go” (Harmonicraft). It’s a tune I kinda forgot about until Andy Low (pack rat) sent us a copy asking if we’d be into having this on his new comp. Sure, why not? If it wasn’t for Mr Low, Rick and I wouldn’t have met, Torche might not have existed and who knows where we’d all be today? We decided to call the song “Andy Low” to make him uncomfortable/feel strange about his name as a song title AND because we love the hell out of him. “Andy Low” is for our boy Andy Low/Robodog/Robotic Empire Records. Enjoy!”

Quote label founder Andy Low on assembling this release:

“I’m truly humbled and fairly weirded-out to have a song named after me. But far more importantly, I’m blown away by the sheer talent that surrounds this free ‘mixtape’ release. Every song included amazes me in some manner, and the culmination of all this material gives me the same kind of excitement I felt on the cusp of releasing our most influential records over the years.

If you can, please take the time to check out the full release, especially the songs by bands you haven’t heard before. It was sequenced with a classic mixtape feel in mind, and set to flow as best it can with such a wide variety of material! With two tracks for each year of the label’s existence, there is a plethora of great new tunes lurking in here, which I hope you’ll find and enjoy.

A genuine and hearty thankyou is due to every artist who is a part of this, it means the world to be celebrating 15 years as a label with such amazing musicians, and their projects past, present and future!”

The “Blood” mixtape can be downloaded now for FREE via Robotic Empire’s bandcamp page, or streamed in full via Soundcloud:

Los Angeles / New York duo ALPACA today release their sophomore offering, a four song EP titled Post Empire.

Recorded throughout 2013 and 2014, the two man electronic/rock outfit comprised of Allen Blickle and Justin Nuckols explore a slightly darker territory on their latest effort. While retaining the catchy elements ALPACA established on their debut album Demimonde, there’s increased melancholy compared to the breakout debut last year. The proggy sensibilities are more apparent in the less-conventional song structures, and a haunting dissonance balances this new material’s impressive impact.

Blickle’s bombastic and technical drumming style that he grew throughout his tenure with rock group BARONESS shines bright on the harder groove tracks, while Nuckols’ at times ethereal guitar style and vocal performances resonate further maturity on the duo’s new work.

Comments Blickle on the release, “Post Empire in essence portrays a present picture of our personalities musically and contextually. Exploring new territory for every record we work on is what excites us to move forward in our musical relationship.”

On the opposite end of the format spectrum, THOU‘s monster 12″ EP, The Sacrifice, from earlier this year has just been re-pressed. Quickly blowing out when it landed late spring, this tidy beast returns to wax in all its tip-on jacket / 180-gram vinyl glory! Comprised of five burly tracks recorded during the Heathen album sessions, the 25 minutes of The Sacrifice offers some of the band’s most condensed work to date, eschewing the crawl found on most of their long-players and upping the tempo a bit while retaining their revered doom and roar.

Several new bludgeoners (“New Orleans Is a Hole,” “Pill,” and “Eulogy”) are joined with the masterful drone of “I Believe Because It Is Impossible” and, per usual, a ferocious NIRVANA cover, this time putting “I Hate Myself and I Want to Die” through their apocalyptic grinder. Accompanying the 45 RPM heavyweight clear vinyl 12″ is a high quality digital download included, where THOU once again presents the thunder with quality and class.

Further color wax is also available for TILTS latest offering, Cuatro Hombres, along with the re-press of their Self-Titled debut album – both now available on vinyl.

Each of these longplaying rock and roll bangers feature cover imagery by Tom Huck, the renowned ‘Evil Print’ woodcut artist also responsible for THE ROOTS Phrenology cover. Including a high quality digital download as well, TILTS catalog is responsibly available once again.

Beyond that, we’ve been chugging through the recent t-shirts stocked from MAN IS THE BASTARD / NOISE and the GRATEFUL DEAD X MISFITS limited design we scored stock of. Although famous rappers are snatching them up pronto, some sizes of each are still available in the Robotic Empire – Online Store

Robotic Empire is excited to announce that pre-orders are now available for ALPACA‘s debut album, both physically and digitally. Set for release October 1st, Demimonde is the first release from ALPACA and explores new ground for both the label and band members involved.

Comprised of vocalist/guitar player Justin Nuckols and multi-instumentalist Allen Blickle, Demimonde was recorded over a five year period across locations in New York and the members’ native Virginia. Much of ALPACA‘s material was initially created throughout arduous tour schedules for BARONESS, the accomplished hard rock band for which Blickle drummed.

This musical collaboration from two ex-step-brothers began in the late ’90s while high school students in the small Appalachian town of Lexington, VA. After separate nomadic wanderings, Nuckols and Blickle both wound up in Brooklyn, NY in 2007.

ALPACA intermittently recorded material between BARONESS‘ tour activities, finally hunkering down in the winter of 2012-2013 to expand their mutual visions and perfect mixes, ultimately finishing a body of work many years in the making.

To compliment the level of detail the music received, the vinyl edition of Demimonde comes housed in a five-color gatefold LP jacket with added spot-gloss finish. Accordingly elaborate color vinyl is available , and joined by a high-quality digital download. 800 color vinyl LPs were pressed + 200 black vinyl, and a CD edition is also available.

We’re absolutely thrilled to finally have this album just about done. It’s been a long ass time since Allen first played us some proto-Paca jams in the old Robo HQ and we’re truly excited to help an old friend with a fantastic debut release.

Beyond that cool label activity, we’ve got a powerhouse of righteous new items in the Robotic Empire – Online Store. First off, we have to note the absolutely insane multi-vinyl releases from THE OCEAN! Pelagic Records really went beyond the standards of “norm” with those releases, plus more GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT on vinyl for the die-hards. Also on the rad-import-tip is the pseudo-sanctioned CURSED “bootleg” LPs, which are just what you’d hope and expect. Semi-ALPACA-related is the badass old BARONESS / UNPERSONS split LP newly available on red color vinyl, and we also got the new LP from THE BODY, also released by At A Loss. Label-favorite FOREST SWORDS is finally here, give that one a chance. Some rippers (CAPTIVE BOLT, CIVILIZATION, EYC) from the newly revived Dead Tank label/distro are now in stock, plus a slew of tapes from Like Young. Appropriately horrific and terrifying is the ungodly COFFINS Colossal Hole 10″ for the true freaks. Also good to see To Live A Lie cranking out filthy high-quality grind (ASSHOLE PARADE, MEHKAGO NT) as always. Good stuff abound, here’s the full list:

“…the sound is so different from Baroness. Do you think people will be surprised or taken aback by the change?

For sure. I hope they are. That’s sort of what it’s all about — jumping and taking chances. Doing something you love, you know. This is the type of music that I’ve always be into. I’ve always been into pop music since I was a kid, and then I got into, like, punk rock and metal early on, but I always had that side. When you start producing music you kind of like put your limbs out and try a bunch of different things and I think how this record kind of took shape was all these different influences. It’s from the heart and it feels good.”

We now two weeks away from launching ALPACA vinyl pre-orders, and the packaging turned out absolutely dead-on how the band intended. Gatefold jacket, spot-gloss in key places, complimentary color vinyl (pics soon) and all around it looks/sounds awesome!

If you missed the opening track premiere on SPIN.com, you can now hear it right here:

Demimonde officially drops on October 1st but we plan to launch vinyl+download pre-orders about two weeks ahead. Keep ya eyes pealed!